Ferrari dealership row settled?

A Cape High Court judgement has left Viglietti as the sole Ferrari dealer in South Africa.

The judgement, handed down by Western Cape High Court Judge Allie J last Wednesday, dismissed Rosso Sport Auto’s application for leave to appeal Viglietti’s termination of Rosso’s retail agreement.

Viglietti is the official importer of Ferrari for South Africa.

The judgement brings respite to a dispute which has been more than a year in the making. It also leaves import, and local distribution and retail authority of Ferrari supercars to Viglietti - and only Viglietti.The scope of the disagreement between Rosso Sport and Viglietti became apparent during three court dates this year. Before the first court date on January 26 this year, Rosso alleged its customer base was being subverted by Viglietti. The Ferrari importer was allegedly neatly depositing rather chunky Ferrari vehicle deposits (between R50 000 – R100 000 per car) into its business account instead of keeping the fund in a separate customers' trust account. Rosso Sport, as the sole Ferrari dealer for all of South Africa outside the Western Cape, was desperate to prevent Viglietti from cancelling its distribution agreement and setting up shop in Gauteng, where most Ferraris (obviously) are sold. The initial judgement on 26 January went in Rosso Sport’s favour, preventing Viglietti from selling Ferraris in Gauteng and the northern territories of South Africa. Curiously, Viglietti runs one of the world’s few standalone Maserati dealerships in Bryanston, Gauteng, and has been doing a brisk trade since June of 2008…Court papers highlight why Viglietti was keen to cancel its agreement with Rosso Sport and set-up its own dealership in Gauteng. The documents detail Rosso owed Viglietti a rather princely sum of R20 million, outstanding money for six cars ordered by 18 December 2008. Some of money was still outstanding by January 21, which subsequently saw Viglietti and Rosso Sport in court by 26 January. One of the most contentious points of dispute was Rosso’s unhappiness about vacillating invoice prices, which Viglietti blamed on exchange rate volatility – something most Eurozone-sourced import products are afflicted by. A July 15 court appearance judgement went in favour of Viglietti, when it was found the Ferrari importer’s termination of Rosso Sport Auto’s dealership agreement to retail Ferraris was valid. Rosso Sport filed a motion for leave to appeal the July 15 judgement, which was refused last Wednesday.

Gauteng customers catered for

The current state of affairs leaves Viglietti as the sole Ferrari dealer in the country, which probably won’t surprise supporters of the fabled Italian brand, as the Viglietti brothers have been retailing and serving Italian exotics for nearly 35 years. As things stand, 78 Roeland Street, Cape Town, is very much the home of Ferrari South Africa in all respects. Loyal Gauteng region customers can expect to have their supercars serviced at Viglietti’s Maserati dealership in Bryanston until a new Ferrari facility, also to be located in Bryanston, is opened. This project is rapidly nearing completion.

Finally, then, peace of mind for Ferrari customers? Hopefully.

Ferrari buyers and owners don't want hassles about who is selling their cars to them. Especially in a high risk market, like South Africa, where altitude, heat, deteriorating road conditions and lucky-packet fuel quality are enough of a headache for supercar owners already.

They just want superlative levels of service.

In fact, the only thing a Ferrari customer should be worried about is whether to turn the Manettino dial to the naughty side when approaching traffic circles on the way home from work or not...